Reviews by Brabander:

I feel really shit to write such a bad review but i have to. This is one of the beers i was looking for...really looking for. There was a great beerfestival yesterday in Holland (Borefts) and BA member Fux (Francois) brought his bottle to the festival. We had already heard from other that there were infected bottles and this one was one of them. Too bad cause i would love to get a good bottle from this beer!

More User Reviews:

Huge thanks to tpd975 for the 22 bottom-filled "growler." Shared with my bro-in-law last night.

Dark black pour that has plenty of carbonation and a moderate head upon initial viewing. I should say this has held up like a champion for 9 months out of the keg.

Fudgy brownie and bourbon in the nose. Such a decadent whiff that only gets more intoxicating as it warms. Plenty of vanilla tossed in as well. Just superlative!

This tastes even better than it smells. The bourbon is prominent in the way that it's so smoothing. I've never had Palm Ridge before but I'm signing up for their newsletter going forward! While there is plenty of whiskey in the upfront, it seems more subtle than previous reviews. For whatever the reason, this is exactly what I was hoping for. Coconut, brown sugar, chocolate syrup, a slight roastiness and hints of maple creme all reveal themselves at different times. This seems like it could be a hybrid between Berserker and Kate.

I really can't add much more than that. It's a crime that this isn't available to the masses. Barrel-aging at it's best to a base beer that is simply remarkable.

From a growler, second batch. Thanks to Mike M for hooking up this long-time want of mine! Rare D.O.S. pours out much RareR D.O.S. did; oily and black like squid's ink... The difference here is that an actual head build up on top of the black brew; deep tan, quarter-inch in size at first, but it instantly falls to nothingness - no ring, no skin, no nothing.

The aroma is rich and sweet, with notes of deep, chocolate fudge cake, whiskey-laced oak, light hints of cinnamon (I know there's no cinnamon in this beer, but something smells spicy), touches of barrel-forward vanilla, and a mold of some sweet, dark fruits; prunes and raisins covered in brown sugar. It's rich, it's chocolately, it's fudgy, boozy, and pretty sweet on the nose.

Lots of thick chocolate flavors bounce forward with the first sip, following that dense, fudge cake flavor profile closely. Lots of stuff going on here, with each sip bringing more out to the light: very mild cinnamon bun notes, sweet currants, dates, and plums, sweet caramel, dark fruit jam, woodsy coconut and vanilla notes, and plenty of whiskey and barrel-y oak.

The flavor profile is nice and complex, there's certainly a lot going on, and I'm pulling out a ton of stuff from this beer. But I don't absolutely *love* it like I should. I mean, reading over my notes, this sounds like a wet dream on paper... But taking each sip, I wasn't overwhelming with orgasmic flavor like I thought I would be.

Why doesn't this stroke me like it should? Well, I think it has to do with my astronomical expectations heading into this beer. That's not fair to the beer, I know. But it doesn't send me into beer nirvana like it should. I actually preferred RareR D.O.S. and the sweet rum and lightly tart dark fruits, and my expectations were high for that as well.

That said, this beer is still damn good. I mean, really, it's a great stout. And if a local brewery sold it near me, I'd probably have it all the time. But it's not worth giving up the farm for. It's awesome, but it's not going to be up there with the beers you dream of having again. Luckily, we didn't get one of the infected growlers, so that was a plus. Again, this beer is great - it's really damn good. But it's not the world beater it was made out to be.

Bottle shared by Ben - thanks! An imperial stout made by Peg's Cantina aged in whiskey barrels from a local distillery.

Pours black with a one-finger tan head. The head recedes into a wispy layer on top leaving solid lacing.

Smells of lightly roasted malts with good amounts of semi-sweet chocolate and vanilla. Also present are mild amounts of earthy oak aromas that waft out every now and then.

Tastes similar to how it smells, though the roastiness is more intense and overpowers the whiskey to an extent. Large roasted malt flavors kick things off and are joined quickly by moderately bitter semi-sweet chocolate flavors. Midway through the sip mild amounts of vanilla work their way into things, fading out into a moderately bitter ending.

Mouthfeel is very good. It's got a very nice thickness with grainy carbonation.

Drinkability is also very good. I finished my glass quickly and could easily have a few more.

Overall I was impressed with this beer as the flavors all worked well together. Worth a shot.